Internal Affairs
by spiritx33
Summary: My take on what was going to happen in Internal Affairs. Rated T for language and some mild violence. Major spoilers inside, my friends. Chapter Six: The Interrogations Part 1 NOW ADDED.
1. The Phone Calls

**Author's Note:** So in tomorrow night's episode, Nick is killed and Natalia is the prime suspect… how can I NOT write a fic about that? This is my take on what might happen. (This is purely speculation on my part after reading the episode description and watching the preview.)

**Internal Affairs**  
Chapter One: The Phone Calls

It was ten o'clock in the morning and something very rare was going on at the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. The usual loud murmur of employees' voices was nowhere to be heard, the Lab Technicians weren't rushing around to get results back in record time, and there had been no calls regarding crime in Miami-Dade County. That alone was strange, because there was _always_ crime in Miami. Whether it was an attack, a robbery, an attempted murder, or a homicide, there was always something new that the CSIs were responsible for solving.

That wasn't the case today, though.

Even though it was nice to have a break from crime solving, something wasn't right. No reports, none at all, had been sent to MDPD. It was as if a higher power had granted the CSIs some extra free time so they could relax before a big case came along. A big case that would push each CSI to his or her limit.

Well… _almost_ each CSI. One had already been pushed to her limit, if the anger in her voice was any indication: "What do you want?!"

Natalia Boa Vista stood in the corner of the otherwise empty break room, on the phone with her ex-husband Nick Townsend for the forth time that day. He had been harassing her for the past several weeks and she was getting tired of it. He had no reason to be calling her over and over again, and there was no reason why she had to put up with his crap.

"No, Nick, stop. Just stop," she said as she raked a hand through her loosely curled hair, clearly aggravated. "I want you to stop calling me and I don't want to talk to you unless we end up having to share the same crime scene at some point in the future. And even then, I'll only talk to you if we absolutely have to, for the sake of the case. Understand?" The last bit was rhetorical, so she didn't bother leaving any room for Nick to get a word in. "Good. Goodbye, Nick."

Once again, she didn't wait for any response. She didn't want to hear any response from Nick. Just thinking of the man, never mind hearing his voice, brought up so many unwanted memories and bad emotions… and she wasn't in the mood for them. So she pulled the cell phone away from her ear and flipped it closed. She then angrily tossed it on the counter and stood still for a moment or two, trying to calm herself down. She had gotten all worked up from the latest conversation and now she needed to compose herself before stepping back into the lab to join her coworkers and friends.

Natalia closed her eyes and took in a big breath of air, then let it out slowly. She began to repeat the process when the familiar ring of her phone sounded. At this, her eyes snapped open and she stared down at her phone that was still resting on the counter. On the front screen was the name of the person calling her: Nick Townsend.

"Goddamnit," she said a little too loudly, as she grabbed her phone to get a better look at the screen. She let out something mixed between a frustrated yell and a growl as she slammed the phone back down on the counter.

"Nick again?"

Natalia had been completely caught off-guard by whoever it was now in the room with her. She inhaled sharply and spun around in the direction of where the voice had come from. For a second there, she feared it would be Nick. It certainly wouldn't be the first time he snuck up on her… or the second… or the fifth.

Upon seeing who it was, Natalia relaxed. "Eric," she said, relief obvious in her voice. The relief didn't last very long though… In fact, the nerves settled in as soon as she had finished saying his name. "How long have you been standing there?"

Eric stepped into the room, leaving the doorway where he had been for the past five minutes. "Long enough to know that Nick is giving you a hard time." That was what he had assumed, anyway. Her anger and frustration made it obvious that Nick was doing something Natalia didn't like.

"He won't leave me alone," Natalia explained to him as he moved closer to her. "He's been doing this for the past several weeks… calling me nonstop, stalking me in public… he even had the nerve to come to my house _three_ times. Three times, Eric! I thought I made it blatantly obvious that I never wanted to see him again unless I absolutely have to… Did he not get that message?" After finishing her mini-rant to Eric, she sighed and covered her eyes with her hands. Already worn out and the day had yet to begin.

Anger flared up inside Eric when Natalia let him know Nick had been harassing her. Even though the two CSIs have had a really rocky relationship for the past year, even though Natalia had been the mole in the lab… he was still very protective of her. In fact, when Nick had come back into Natalia's life only several months ago and harassed her at their crime scene, it took everything Eric had to hold himself back from beating the guy to a pulp right then and there. Instead he had given him warnings and demanded that Nick leave, which was very unlike Eric. The only reason why he had been so passive about the entire thing was because they had been surrounded by officers and pedestrians out in public. He'd had to play it cool, which he did, even though he had been dying to throw some punches. _That_ was the kind of protector he was, at least when it came to Natalia. He wasn't one to give out warnings like he had. With Natalia, he was much more protective than he had appeared to be that day. Much more protective.

Why?

Probably because he was still in love with her. He had never stopped loving her. Not after the pregnancy scare, not after the "cleared for landing" mishap, not after the small fight over her broken car window, not after the mole fiasco. He still loved her with everything he had, and he was just as protective, if not more, than he was when they were still dating.

As much as he wanted to give into the urge and go over to Nick Townsend's condo and beat the shit out of him, he knew he couldn't. He knew it would be wrong and that there would be severe consequences… severe consequences for something that wasn't even worth his time. ...But at the same time, what Eric would do for the chance to teach Nick a lesson or two... To show him how it feels to be the punching bag.

"How about you put in a request for a number change? I'm sure they'll grant you one if you explain the situation to them," Eric suggested. That way, whenever Nick would try to call Natalia, he wouldn't get through. It seemed like a logical thing to do.

Natalia picked up her phone, which had been quiet for several minutes now, and eyed it. Eric's idea was a good one and she wondered why she hadn't thought of that before. "Good idea," she said as her eyes left the phone to look up at Eric. The two shared a small smile as they stood in silence but it was quickly interrupted by Natalia's phone. Ringing. _Again_.

The two CSIs frowned as Natalia picked up her phone so they could both get a good look at the Caller ID. Once again: Nick Townsend.

Natalia brought her hands back down to her sides as she turned to face Eric. "I think now would probably be a good time for me to put in that request," she said, frowning.

Eric smiled and nodded his head. "All right. See you later, then."

Natalia returned the smile. "See you later," she said as she left the break room with her cell phone, which was _still_ ringing.


	2. The Fight

**Internal Affairs**  
Chapter Two: The Fight

No more than an hour had passed since Eric had found Natalia in the break room. Since then, she had gone off to talk to Horatio about her latest problem, while Eric agreed to go out for some ice cream with Calleigh and Ryan. It had been a short drive there and a short drive back for the three CSIs, whose destination was only several blocks from the Miami-Dade Crime Lab, but the time they spent there was anything _but_ short. Eric and Calleigh already had their flavors picked out: coffee and pistachio. Ryan, however, took all the time in the world to finally settle on a flavor. He had sampled about ten different flavors and had walked up and down the counter at least four times before he finally decided on rocky road.

While the drive back was short, it must have felt like the longest two minutes in Ryan's life. Eric and Calleigh would _never_ let him forget his difficult and exhausting decision at Sam's Ice Cream Parlor.

The three CSIs finished their ice cream as they entered the Crime Lab and went their separate ways, Ryan heading to DNA and Calleigh making her way back to ballistics. Eric chose to hang out in the lobby for a little longer, maybe play "catch up" with the receptionist Paula, whom he hadn't seen in ages.

The two hadn't said very much to one another before Eric caught something, or someone, out of the corner of his eye. He excused himself from Paula to get a better look at the person who had just walked into the Crime Lab and was now starting down the hallway. He wasn't quite sure where Nick was actually headed, but Eric didn't wait to find out.

"Hey!" he called as he started at a quick pace toward Nick. "Hey, Townsend!"

Nick's cocky strut came to a halt as he heard his name being called. A smirk formed on his lips when he turned around to find Eric walking up to him. "Delko. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked.

Eric wasn't in the mood for Nick's games. He had a good feeling he already knew why Natalia's ex was here, and he didn't like it.

"Cut it out, Townsend. I know why you're here," he said to Nick, who raised his eyebrow at what Eric said.

"Oh, yeah? And what would that be?"

Eric watched angrily as Nick crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted to deck the guy right here for even thinking he could come near Natalia, even after what she had told him on the phone earlier.

"Stay away from Natalia. She doesn't want to see you."

Nick threw his head back and laughed, clearly amused. "What makes you think I'm here to see _her_?" he asked, and then lowered his voice. "I don't need to chase after her… she'll come back to me. The bitch will realize that she's being bad and then she'll come back to me…" His voice was barely above a whisper at this point. "…just in time for another lesson." The smirk on his face grew into a wide smile and he laughed, wickedly.

It only took a second for that smile to leave his face as Eric took a wide swing and punched Nick right in the jaw. Something had exploded inside of the CSI and at this point, he didn't care if he'd get in trouble. The son of a bitch in front of him was long overdue for the beating he was about to get.

After quickly recovering from Eric's fist, Nick charged toward the CSI, ready to tackle him. Eric pushed his hands out in front of him to block Nick's attack and succeeded, but was too slow to block the punch to his stomach. Eric let down his guard for a second as he doubled over, clutching his stomach and taking a second to catch his breath. He shot back up at Nick and punched him again, right in the nose. This caught Nick off guard and Eric pulled his arm back to hit the bastard again, but something stopped him.

"Hey! Hey!" Ryan yelled as he grabbed Eric around the middle and pulled him back. Nick shook himself off and backed up, but Eric was still fuming.

"We're gonna take this outside, Townsend!"

Nick glared at Eric. "Yeah, outside for part two," he said. "Let's do that."

Eric struggled out of Ryan's grasp but Ryan held tight. "Someone escort Mr. Townsend out of here, please," he yelled to whoever was in ear sight. As an officer came running up to take Nick out, Ryan turned to Eric. "Eric, man, you gotta calm down. C'mon, don't do this…" As Ryan continued to calm Eric down, more people abandoned their work for the time being to see what was going on. Everyone was so concentrated on Eric and Nick that no one saw Maxine Valera slip out the back door.


	3. The Pit Stop

**Author's Note:** This might be a first, you guys… I never thought it would be possible, but I might actually finish this _entire_ story in _one _day! …I should get an award. 

And a big THANK YOU to Jumaolster for the review love. 333

**Internal Affairs**  
Chapter Three: The Pit Stop 

It didn't take very long for the commotion in the main hall of the Crime Lab to die down after Nick was taken from the building and Eric had calmed down enough for Ryan to release him. Ryan backed up as his coworker stormed down the hall and into the break room, probably to cool down. Soon after that, everyone cleared out of the hallway and retreated back to their labs. The only people who remained in the hall after all of this were Ryan, Calleigh, Alexx, and a select few police officers.

The three coworkers stepped to the side, Calleigh and Alexx practically cornering in on Ryan to find out the details from him.

"What happened?" Calleigh asked, both confused and concerned. She had been firing guns in ballistics and hadn't heard anything until it was all over.

Ryan crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from the two women. "Nick," he said with a sigh.

Calleigh stiffened, immediately realizing what Ryan had meant. Alexx, on the other hand, was confused.

"Wait," she said, trying to work this out. "Nick? Who's…" Her voice trailed off as it dawned on her. "Natalia's ex?" Being down in the morgue for the majority of the day always kept Alexx out of the loop.

Calleigh briefly turned her attention away from Ryan to focus on Alexx. "Yeah," she said. "But I don't understand… why was he here?" she asked, turning back to Ryan.

The response she got was a shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine," Ryan said. He assumed it had something to do with Natalia, which would explain why Eric and him had gone at it.

"Your first guess or your seventeenth?" Calleigh asked, grinning from ear to ear. He had left the opportunity wide open for her, and she took it.

"Very funny…" Ryan's voice trailed off as his eyes grew wide. This worried both Calleigh and Alexx.

"Ryan?" Alexx asked. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Eric and Nick said they were gonna take it outside for part two."

The three friends shared worried looks before Ryan sprinted to the elevator, bumping into Natalia on the way over.

"Ryan?" Natalia asked, but received no answer. The doors of the elevator had already closed.

When she caught sight of Calleigh and Alexx, Natalia decided to head over there to see if they knew what was going on. She noted that the two women looked nervous, which didn't make her feel any better. Something was wrong.

"Hey… what's wrong?" Natalia asked as she approached them, but they didn't give her an answer either. Instead, Calleigh and Alexx shared another worried look, which made Natalia grow nervous. "What?" she asked.

Finally, Calleigh sighed. "Nick was here," she admitted, and immediately caught the panic-stricken look on Natalia's face.

"Why? What for?"

"I don't know," Calleigh continued, shrugging her shoulders. A long moment of silence settled between the three women before Calleigh continued. "…Ryan had to break up a fight between him and Eric."

Natalia's jaw fell open as a million scenarios flew through her head. Why had Nick come here in the first place? For her? And how did him and Eric get in a fight? Eric rarely had a problem keeping his cool. What provoked him? What started the fight?

"Where is he? Is he okay?" Natalia saw movement out of the corner of her eye and spotted Eric heading down the hall toward them, still slightly pissed off. "Eric," she called as she hurried toward him, leaving Calleigh and Alexx behind.

"Hey," he said, smiling. It was obvious he was trying to hide his anger. Did he really think she wasn't going to find out? "Did you get the text message?"

"What text mess—" At that moment, Natalia's phone beeped, indicating she had a text message. She reached into the back pocket of her slacks and flipped it open. It was from Homicide. They finally had a crime scene to process.

Calleigh's phone had also beeped, as well as Alexx's. All four were expected at the crime scene in Coral Gables.

"Well," Alexx started. "I'll see you three there." She started off down the hallway, first on her way down to the morgue. After collecting her kit there, she'd head over to the crime scene.

She left behind Calleigh, Eric, and Natalia, the former separated several yards from the two latter. Calleigh could see that Eric was antsy to leave, probably because he didn't want to have to talk to Natalia about what had happened. However, Natalia wasn't letting Eric off the hook that easily.

"Eric, I—"

Eric cut her off. "—We'll talk about it later, 'Talia." He could tell she was ready to protest, but he continued. "Let's get to the crime scene. I'll drive."

Eric stepped around Natalia and started to the elevator, as did Calleigh. Natalia turned around and watched them, not making any effort to move. Calleigh realized this and turned around to face her. "Nat? You coming?"

"Uh, yeah," Natalia said distractedly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh… why don't you two go and I'll meet you there? There's something I have to do."

This made Eric and Calleigh suspicious, but they trusted their friend and assumed it was no big deal. "Alright," Eric said, nodding. "See you in a little bit, then."

After Eric and Calleigh disappeared in the elevator, Natalia raced back to the locker room, grabbed her purse, and headed back toward the elevator. Once outside, she walked over to the Hummer she had the key for, climbed up into it, started it, and then took off toward her first destination, just a little pit stop on the way to the crime scene.

Who knew how difficult it was to parallel park a Hummer? Certainly not Natalia. It had taken her at least five minutes to successfully maneuver it in between two small sports cars. So much of her concentration was focused on not hitting anything that she didn't notice Valera frantically running from the building of condominiums, hopping into her car, and speeding off down the street.

Natalia made the march to Nick's condo quickly because she wanted to get this over with. She wanted to get in there, get her point across, then be off to the crime scene she was supposed to be working.

Once she reached Nick's condo, she knocked impatiently on the door and waited for an answer. The waiting didn't last very long… maybe only several seconds before an angry Nick flung the door open. Once he saw whom it was, his anger faded and his lips curled up into a smile. "Natalia," he said. "Come in." He stepped away from the door, allowing her entrance to his residence.

"I'm gonna make this quick, Nick," she told him as she stepped into the condo. She heard him close the door and then spun around to face him. There was no need for her to be any further from the door, as this was going to be quick.

Nick started down the long hallway that led to his living area, giving Natalia no choice but to follow him. He crossed over to his white couch and plopped down on it, then watched Natalia in silence, waiting for her to continue.

"I heard you were at the lab today," she started and waited for a response from Nick. When he said nothing, she continued. "And I heard what happened." Still no response.

"I don't want you anywhere near the lab anymore, Nick. Unless it has to do with work, which in that case you'll need to actually prove to me that you're not there for any other reason."

Nick was still quiet. The only change was the amused look his face now held.

"Don't look at me like that, Nick. When we made that deal, I agreed to be civil with you, but you're making it damn hard to when you're picking fights with my friends."

Still no response. She was about to comment on that when she spotted something sitting on a small table by the hallway, something that completely caught her off-guard. She gasped and headed over to the table to pick up a framed picture of her and Nick. He's hugging her. Seeing the joy on both of their faces brought tears to Natalia's eyes. That was when they were happy. When everything was perfect.

"Our honeymoon," Nick said from behind her, making her jump. "Do you remember that, Nat?"

She nodded and continued to stare at the picture, completely speechless.

Nick reached around Natalia and picked up something else that was on the table. It was a small box and inside was a ring. Her wedding ring.

Natalia was in shock. She gently placed the picture frame back down on the table and then focused her attention on the ring. She took it from him and held it with both hands as she studied it. The sparkling diamonds were still there, the gold was still as perfect as it was then, and her name was still clearly engraved on the inside: Natalia Townsend.

The two objects brought a smile to Natalia's face and sent her through several wonderful memories: the engagement, the wedding, and the honeymoon. She closed her eyes and allowed them to take her away, but she was quickly brought back into reality as Nick slipped the ring onto her finger. It was still a perfect fit.

"Look at that," he said, his voice calm and soothing.

She smiled as she admired it, but that smile was cut short when she realized she should have been at the other crime scene by now. "I have to go," she said as she began pulling the ring off of her finger.

"Nat…" he started, but she shook her head.

"No, I mean it," she said forcefully. "I need to get over to a crime scene."

Before she could pull off the ring, Nick grabbed her hands. "C'mon, Nat… stay a while." He smiled at her, which sent an involuntary shiver through her body. What was so scary about that smile was that it could actually be a genuine one.

"No, Nick, I can't."

"Natalia…"

"Nick, let go of me!" Natalia pulled free of his grip, but he reached back for her and grabbed onto her arms right above the elbow. His grip was loose, but his persistence for her to stay made her grow increasingly anxious. "Stop, Nick."

When Nick wouldn't let go, Natalia tore away from him and then shoved him just as she had done at that one crime scene several months ago. "Just stop!" She threw the ring at his chest after pulling it off her finger. "I want you to stay away from me, I want you to stay away from my friends, and I want you to stay away from the lab!"

Before he could say or do anything, Natalia spun on her heels and raced down the hallway to the door, which she left wide open as she stormed out of the condo.


	4. The Arrest

**Author's Note:** Go figure… I totally jinxed myself when I mentioned in the last chapter that I could very well end up finishing this story in one day. Oh, well… Now it's a race to beat the clock. Can she do it? (Dun-dun-dunnnnnn!)

Choco.Sushi.Nut – I love you. Your reviews are amazing.

**Internal Affairs**  
Chapter Four: The Arrest 

When Natalia arrived at the crime scene, she was relieved to find that neither Calleigh nor Eric asked where she had been. If they had asked, she wouldn't have known what to say... As much as she cared for and respected her friends and coworkers, they'd be worried and disappointed in her if she told them the truth. None of them wanted her anywhere around Nick and they all had, at one point or another, stressed that to her.

Eric and Calleigh had already processed the majority of the crime scene, which left Natalia with little to do. Calleigh and Eric had taken pictures, collected items that seemed out of place, and swabbed several blood samples. The body, which had been crushed by a bookshelf, had already been transported back to the morgue. All that the three CSIs had left to worry about was the murder weapon: the granite-topped bookshelf.

It had taken a while to disassemble the bookshelf without compromising any trace that could be on it, but they eventually managed to break it down just enough to fit every part into the back of Eric and Calleigh's Hummer. Since that was all they could fit into their SUV, Natalia was responsible for bringing the other evidence back to the lab.

After signing out and giving the "OK" for Crime Scene Cleanup to take over, the three CSIs, all with the evidence secure in the back of their Hummers, took off up the road. Natalia rolled down the window to let in the cool Miami breeze and turned on the radio as she merged onto the causeway.

She spent the next several minutes with one eye on the road and the other on the SUV's radio. After going through the different stations at least four times, Natalia came to the conclusion that every single radio station in the Miami-Dade area had succumbed to playing those annoying teenage songs. She'd just have to make do with the whistling sound of the wind whipping through the Hummer. Thank god the evidence was packed tightly into several boxes… the last thing she needed was for them to go flying out the window.

As soon as Natalia exited the causeway and turned down a side street, she heard the loud wailing of sirens from police cars coming up behind her. She looked into her rearview mirror to check it out, but nothing was there. Her brown eyes surveyed the road ahead of her and still found nothing. Where the hell were these sirens coming from?

"_CSI Boa Vista, pull over immediately."_

…Maybe the evidence wasn't as secure as she thought… Had she left something behind?

Natalia glanced down at the police radio where a semi-familiar voice had just come from. She then looked into her rearview mirror again and saw the two police cars that had been responsible for the sirens. The fact that they were still wailing and their lights were flashing was something that made Natalia nervous. What was going on?

Natalia pulled over to the right side of the road and placed the Hummer in park. She watched as the two cars behind her did the same, and then when the officers got out of their vehicles, she went to do the same.

"Stay in the vehicle, Boa Vista," the semi-familiar voice called to her. "Keep your hands on the steering wheel."

…Now something was definitely wrong. She was being treated as if she was in some kind of actual trouble. As if she was a civilian being pulled over for reckless driving or some other crime.

She complied and then watched as the two cops and a third guy, one she immediately recognized as Calleigh's ex-boyfriend, approached the Hummer. After taking a quick glance around the interior, one of the officers opened the driver's side door and ordered Natalia out of it.

"What's going on?" she asked as she slid off of the chair and stepped down onto the ground. She was clueless.

The officer guided her around to the other side of the Hummer where Calleigh's ex and another officer stood. "Jake?" Natalia asked, looking at Calleigh's ex, confusion written all over her face.

"Natalia," he started in his slow Southern drawl, "you're under arrest for the murder of Nick Townsend."

What?!

Natalia's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open as Jake produced a pair of handcuffs and stepped in back of her to attach them to her wrists.

"Wha… Nick's dead?!" Natalia asked, her voice filled with disbelief. How could that be? After all, she had seen him, perfectly alive, no more than an hour ago.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one…"

The ride back to the MDPD building was extremely nerve-racking for Natalia. She had just gotten an overwhelming overload of information that her brain was slowly processing. She also didn't understand why she was being arrested for his murder. He was fine the last time she saw him. She did _nothing_ wrong! They had no right to arrest her! They didn't have anything on her!

Once the police car came to a stop in front of MDPD, Jake and the officer both got out of the car, opened the back door, and pulled Natalia out. The officer stood to her right and held onto her arm as Jake walked on her left side. Ashamed, Natalia kept her eyes on the ground as Jake and the officer guided her toward the doors of the building.

They had just gotten up the steps and were approaching the doors when Natalia spotted Calleigh and Eric. She could tell by the sadness in their eyes and the disappointment on their faces that they knew what had happened. But why weren't they saying anything?

"Calleigh… Eric…" she pleaded, looking back and forth from one to the other as the officer pulled her along. "I was with you two the entire time!" She got no response from them.

What was going on? Why weren't they helping her out?!

"You're kidding me! Say something, please!"

They didn't say anything. They both looked away. Calleigh turned her head and looked out into the distance, absorbed in her own thoughts. Eric's gaze fell to the ground.

Natalia whimpered as she cast one more look at her two friends before being pulled into the station.

What was going on?


	5. The Talk

**Internal Affairs  
**Chapter Five: The Talk 

Despite that almost every single member of the dayshift was there, the silence in the break room was deafening. Their heads were all spinning with the news that their friend was under arrest for the murder of her ex-husband. Not one of the five adults said one word, as they were all speechless. All they could do was shake their heads, sigh, and try to process this information. Try to figure out if it was actually possible that Natalia killed Nick.

After what felt like ages, Eric broke the silence. "Ryan, you processed the scene," he stated, leaning back against the counter. Next to him was Calleigh, whose green eyes were glued to the floor. "What did you find?"

Ryan was sitting at the table with his head in his hands, still trying to fathom the idea of Natalia killing Nick. Sure, she wasn't the _greatest_ person in the world, especially after the whole mole incident, but there was no way in hell she would be capable of murder… even if the evidence, at this point, did tell a different story. He sighed and lifted his head to look up at Eric. "Not much," he said, shrugging. "By the time Tripp and I got there, Nick's body had already been transported back to the morgue with the other M.E. We had no idea this was Nick until Tripp found a picture on the table."

Frank had been leaning against the wall up until this point. He stood up straight and uncrossed his arms as he spoke. "It was a picture of them together," he said to the group. "That's when I put two and two together and realized the vic had to be Nick. It wasn't Natalia's place and I'm sure no one else would have a framed picture of her and him sitting on their table."

Something wasn't adding up for Calleigh. Shaking her head, she broke her staring contest with the floor to look at her coworkers. "That still doesn't even suggest Natalia killed Nick," she said. "It also doesn't give us proof that she was anywhere near his condo… How is that suddenly enough to arrest a person?"

Calleigh watched Frank glance over at Ryan, who lowered his head. Those two knew something they weren't saying. "You found something else," Calleigh stated, although she was just assuming. "What?"

"Her ring was in the middle of the blood pool."

Ryan had found the wedding ring not too long after him and Tripp came to the realization that their crime scene was Nick's condo. Up until that point, he believed it was purely coincidence and wasn't the least bit worried that she could've been responsible for the man's death. Unfortunately, that ring made him doubt everything he had thought.

Eric shook his head. "She wasn't wearing a ring today," he mumbled under his breath as everyone in the room turned to face him. "How do you know it was even her ring?" he asked, looking back over at Ryan.

Ryan hesitated. He'd give anything to have not been at that crime scene today and to be just as in the dark as everyone else.

"Ryan…" Calleigh said, begging him to answer Eric's question.

Ryan closed his eyes and shook his head. "…Her name was engraved in it."

Eric immediately looked away from Ryan. "Fuck," he said, shaking his head.

"That's still not enough to arrest her, Ryan," Calleigh pointed out. The younger CSI had to know more than what he was telling them. "That's not solid evidence."

"It is when her epithelials are found on it, Calleigh!" Ryan exploded, and then immediately regretted doing so. There was no sign of hurt on her face, but he still felt bad. "…I'm sorry, Calleigh…"

The Southern beauty shook her head. "Forget about it, Ryan. I understand."

They all understood. Someone they grew to love and respect, even after being betrayed by her, was in trouble. They were all on edge.

On top of the CSIs finding Natalia's DNA on the ring, Frank also reported that Natalia's fingerprints were on the picture frame. Things were not looking good for the newest CSI, and the others were slowly beginning to doubt her.

The break room opened and they all looked up to see Alexx, looking extremely sad, slip into the room. "Hey, guys," she said, her voice soft and worried. "I heard what happened." Her only response was several small, sad smiles. It appeared everyone else was feeling the same way she was.

Suddenly, Frank spoke up. "Alexx," he started, grabbing her attention. "You were down there. Did you get to see the body?" When Alexx nodded, he continued. "Do you know the time of death? Cause of death?"

Because Natalia was a part of their team, none of the day shift, including Alexx, was allowed to work the case. However, Alexx was able to watch the full autopsy down in the morgue, so she had some information to share.

"Time of death was around eleven to eleven-thirty this morning," she stated. "C.O.D. was blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Not sure what the murder weapon was."

At this information, Ryan perked up. "Eleven?" he asked, a small glimmer of hope shining in his eyes. "She was with you two at eleven, right?" He turned to Calleigh and Eric, smiling, but his smile faded when he saw the two CSIs exchange sad looks. "…What? Wasn't she at the crime scene with you two?" he asked.

Calleigh's eyes fell back down to the ground.

"What?" Ryan asked, growing nervous.

Eric sighed. "She came late."

A sinking feeling in the pit of everyone's stomach formed at that moment and doubt really settled in. Everything was against Natalia at this point… nothing was in her favor. While the CSIs were sure Natalia didn't have it in her to kill Nick, the evidence said otherwise. And after having to endure years of abuse from him, the motive was a strong one.

Alexx frowned. "Poor baby," she said softly.

"She couldn't have done this," Ryan said, shaking his head. "She's not capable. She'd never."

Eric stood up straight. "I know Wolfe. We all know."

"But that's the problem!" Ryan yelled as he slammed his fist on the table. "We're the only ones who know she's innocent and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it!"

Eric left his spot by the counter and crossed to the door. Before he could exit the break room, Frank stopped him. "Where you goin'?" he asked.

"I'm gonna talk to H. See if he knows any more than we do."

And with that, Eric left the room, leaving behind the very depressed and helpless group.


	6. The Interrogations Part 1

**Author's Note:** Well, so much for finishing it before the episode aired. Hell, so much for finishing it in the first seven months after it aired. I apologize, but it just makes this so much harder to write after I've already seen the episode more times than I can count. The good thing is that I still do have some of my memory and I can remember where I wanted to go with this, so… yeah. I know it's seven months late, but it's better than never, right?

**Internal Affairs**  
Chapter Six: The Interrogations (Part 1)

"So when did you first meet Natalia?"

Jake Berkeley sat comfortably in the first interrogation room. Across from him was Horatio, also seated, his sunglasses in his hands on his lap. The lieutenant's eyes stayed locked on the detective, something that one working in the lab would find surprising. Horatio Caine never maintained eye contact for more than five seconds. It just wasn't in his nature.

Today, however, was an exception.

"I met Miss Boa Vista approximately sixteen months ago," the redhead responded immediately. He knew his CSI was innocent and was furious that she was being locked in a holding cell. He wished he could do more to help her out—the entire team wished they could do more—but there was nothing. They were off the case. The only team member who had started working on the case had been Ryan, but he didn't get to process much before the night shift took over. Now all that the CSIs could do is stick up for her in interrogation. "She came to the lab as a DNA technician to work on unsolved cases."

The younger man didn't keep his eyes on Horatio for long. He was flipping through Natalia's rather lengthy file that he had put together himself. In it was a copy of her Miami-Dade Crime Lab employee file, a hospital record from October 2004, a copy of a restraining order she had taken out on Nick from October 2004, a copy of the court record from Nick's trial in which he was found guilty, a copy of the divorce papers, and a copy of a restraining order Nick had taken out on Natalia a few months ago. To the right of the file were a blank piece of paper and a pen, incase he was told anything worth writing down.

So far there was nothing to write down. After a good fifteen minutes of interrogating the boss of the crime lab, a frustrated Jake dismissed the older man. He had been given no valuable information on his one and only suspect. Next up would be Ryan Wolfe, which gave Jake some hope. It wasn't exactly a secret that Ryan wasn't too fond of the trainee. Of course he'd be able to get something.

Unfortunately, he also got nothing. It was obvious that Ryan still wasn't comfortable around Natalia, but he had never been anywhere near the woman when she had to deal with Nick, and he never heard her talk about her ex-husband, either. Jake struck out again… but maybe not for long. Calleigh Duquesne was up next.

"So when did you find out about Nick?"

Even though the two seemed to have been on a really good path to rekindling their relationship, Calleigh's expression toward Jake was very cold. She was just as upset as the rest of the team about Natalia being treated as a murderer. Of course Calleigh understood the mandatory procedure, but she knew her friend was innocent, and Jake was taking way too much pleasure in trying to prove her guilty.

"Last year. One of our victims was part of an underground organization dedicated to protecting abused women, and Natalia recognized the woman's son when we brought him in. She's part of the organization, so she used her connections to help solve the case."

Jake finally had the opportunity to pick up the pen and scribble some notes on the blank paper. He had no knowledge of an underground organization.

"Tell me more about that organization," he said, once he had finished writing. He leaned back in his chair and watched Calleigh, waiting for her to tell him more.

Calleigh, however, just shrugged her shoulders. "That's all I know. Natalia never said anything more about it and we never asked."

Jake stared at Calleigh in silence for a moment or two. A whole new door had just been opened for him, but there was nothing inside. "Okay, fine," he said, his voice full of disappointment. More information on that group could really help him out. "Did she mention Nick at all during that time? And how was she acting?"

"She wasn't too bad. Very shaken up, but I'd be too, if that was me." The petite blonde frowned. She had a vivid memory of Natalia's face from that day… her whole expression had been one of fear, confusion, and disbelief. They weren't the best of friends then, but Calleigh would've talked to Natalia, had it not looked like the woman needed a lot of time alone.

"And she never mentioned anything about Nick. I didn't learn too much about him until that day he came to the lab in October."

Now they were getting somewhere. Jake's lips curled up into a smile as he looked at his ex-girlfriend. She was growing more comfortable as the interrogation went on and surely she was going to slip up soon. "So when he did come to the lab, what did you learn?"

Calleigh thought about it for a second or two before realizing that she hadn't learned that much. She hadn't been with Natalia at all when Nick made his appearances, but she had talked to Eric and then later visited her friend to see how she was doing.

"Well," she started in her usually sweet, southern accent that was now full of exhaustion, "I didn't get a chance to see Natalia until after she saw Nick. I didn't even find out until Eric told me about it." She had been in the break room at the time when Eric came storming into the room. She had asked him what was wrong and that's when she found out everything. "Apparently Nick turned up at Eric and Natalia's crime scene and gave her a hard time."

Jake nodded his head, aware of all of this already. That was when she had assaulted him, which had resulted in Nick filing a restraining order against her.

Calleigh chose to skip over that part, though. "After I talked to Eric, I went to see Natalia." Then she paused for a moment to think about what had gone on after that before she started rambling through their conversation. "I asked her how she was… she said she was terrified of him and that her therapist thought she had some sort of suppressed attraction, and then I asked her what she thought, and she said that she wasn't sure but that she—"

Jake had been taking more notes when Calleigh came to a very sudden stop. He looked up at her just in time to see the very last remains of shock on the woman's face before she wiped it clean. There was something that she was about to say, something that wasn't going to help out Natalia's position at all.

"What?" he asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Calleigh shook her head. "Nothing."

Jake's lips curled down into a frown. "Don't lie to me Calleigh."

"I'm not. She just said that she disagreed with her therapist."

He wasn't buying it. Calleigh was always a terrible liar.

"It's cute and all that you're sticking up for you friend, but I can charge you with obstruction of justice for withholding information. You know that, right?"

Calleigh was screwed and she knew it. For as long as she knew him, Jake Berkeley had always been stubborn. And by the look in his eye, which she knew all too well, he meant what he just said. It pained her to do it, but she had no choice.

After glaring at Jake, so viciously that he would've dropped dead if looks really could kill, she sighed. "She said, 'I just want to kill him' or something to that extent."

Jake's eyes lit up like the Rockefeller Christmas tree. He started scribbling furiously. Calleigh sat in silence for a second or two, shocked that she had actually ratted on her friend, but all of that scribbling started her up again.

"But I don't blame her!" She leaned forward in her seat. "Who knows how many times that man could've actually killed her? He was a monster, Jake. I probably would've said the same thing."

Jake looked up from the paper and focused on Calleigh. There was a very smug look on his face as he shrugged. "Well, it obviously meant something. She says that and then three months later he's found dead, with all of the signs pointing to her."

"You don't kn—"

"—Thanks, Calleigh. You've been very helpful. That's all for now," Jake told her. "Send in Delko."

Calleigh stormed out of the room and a couple minutes passed before a very nervous, angry Eric entered. He had obviously seen Calleigh, probably heard her complaining about the interrogation… but that was of no concern to Jake. Calleigh had given him what he wanted and even more. It was Delko's turn now, another interrogation that Jake was looking forward to. Not only had Eric dated Natalia, but he had also been there when Nick harassed her. This was going to be fun.

And it was. He didn't get much, but he took a lot of pleasure in tormenting him… He brought up their relationship, brought up having to be the witness that sealed the deal on Nick's restraining order, and… most importantly, the fight Eric had earlier with the victim. If there had been just one little thing suggesting Eric was in or anywhere near Nick's condo, the guy would be in the holding cell right next to Natalia.

And speaking of Natalia… it was time to bring her in. Time to poke holes through her story. Time to break her down and have her confess to murdering Nick Townsend. Jake was ready.


End file.
